Thursday, April 30, 2015

In October 2011, I had the opportunity to attend
a workshop at the Irvine Fine Arts Center with master printer, Dirk Hagner, who
teaches at Saddleback College. Dirk allowed me to photograph as he printed the final layer of a reduction
woodcut, registering the block for printing, mounting a print and hand rubbing his prints.

He marks his block outside of the printing area and
uses this to register the layers. For each color he does a tracing and lines up
each layer using the same marks.

Pine is good for its grain -- pick your wood based on the effect your wood can contribute to the work. Plywood can even be OK, it just depending on the thickness of the
veneer. Hardwood best for precise lines.. Fruit wood, if you can
afford it is hard enough and has very even grain though harder to work
with, and it does not come in larger sizes. Poplar is good. White pine
is available at Home Depot. Select based on the location of
the knots. Bass wood, which is similar to Shina is easy to carve. Lemon wood is
available at McClain’s only in small pieces. Dirk does not usually like to print using a
press since wood blocks tend to bow so he usually hand rubs his prints.

Portraiture is his personal way to pay tribute to his subject. Music as well as Philosophy inspires. Drawings are bsed on photos, then transferred to the block using carbon
paper. He then covers the drawing with Min Vac, a non water based wood stain
which dries quickly so he can see the contrast when he carves. He doesn't use a
water based wash as it warps the wood.

Inks :: Graphic Chemicals – oil based block
print black, or Caligo. Mixes all his colors, only the black does is straight out
of the can. He prefers colors thin to allow the other colors to come through so to
thin the ink he uses Flash Oil #4, and reconditions it throughout the da keeping
extra cans on hand to store any colors mixed. Best not to ink in to the
non printing area – if any gets ink in there wipe it off.

Paper: Japanese Mulberry rice paper, it needs to
have some sizing and long fibers. Japanese Mulberry is much thinner than BFK
Reeves - you need a thinner paper to print by hand; even so you must rub the paper hard
so the paper also needs to be strong.

How
to tell if there is enough ink on the block, there will be a sheen – and by how it prints.

When rubbing be sure to give it “all you have”, the paper
is strong. Note – if you use Teflon it will make your paper shiny. It usually
takes three prints each time to get a good print.

.

Plans all color layers before beginning cutting

Use a heavy item to hold down the paper so it
won’t slip while rubbing. Rub with the grain

You will see the color come through

Continue to check for any sand grains which could cause the
paper to tear.

Printing: Dirk's editions are usually 15, so he prints
at least 20.

He uses many undercolors which makes the final layer of black, pop. He uses a 4” Takech medium brayer, inking from various
directions and only inking the area to be printed. Using the registration sticks,
he places the paper on the inked block.

Hand rub the print with circular motions
as well as straight up and down, using a custom baren that looks kind of like a
a 1-1/2” diameter doorknob. You can also hand rub using a wooden spoon.

Stick registration: Marks on the back of the
paper and matches this mark up and makes a corresponding mark on a stick. Also
marks the block.

Registering a large piece.

Make a stick/bar. Line up the top of
paper, center mark (though no mark on paper/notched out stick), so clips a stick
on paper using binder clips. Keep stick on for entire process.

Rolls paper face
out and lines up stick to bar, then rolls down – keeps from lifting and
laying down.Prints final black layer, then removes clip

He brought out another reduction – a smaller print that will have one
more layer for shirt and not quite black.

Tools for carving: Dirk uses various
sizes of “U” gouges 1-1/2, 3, 6 mm. He starts with the smallest first, then follows
up with larger

Inking the block for the final layer

rubbing rubbing rubbing - can see the wood grain through the mulberry paper

In some works he cuts the board in
different parts, inks then puts back together using a plywood base to fit/lock
in the pieces.

Plan your wood purchase. You can use
bbq brushes to bring out the grain of the wood, enhance the grain.

Even large prints are hand rubbed, but are initially run through a press to set.

The wood grain of the plate is utilized as part of the print.

Mounting a print

Wet mounts can be reversed(and is archival):

* Uses Henkle wallpaper paste, Metyln
standard:

2 cups water

5 tsp Henkle

let sit so becomes jelly like – leave
overnight. (Check, you may need to add
more Henkle.)

It can be stored.

Tearing the Japanese paper – difficult
since fibers are long. Determine size, wet the paper using a brush – then tear
using a straight edge or the edge of a table.

Smaller works – print face down on
table, glue apply to back of print with glue applicator. Once you start, don’t
move the pice. BFK line up and place over print using shower crubber to smooth
on. Paper tape BFK with print on to board so won’t buckle.

BFK on gator board is dry

1)relax paper by squirting with water andy
water based ink preset with Krylong

2)roll it up using a roller

3)apply glue over all

4)roll over using brush (wallpaper brush)

5)glue top

6)newsprint over – smooth with shower
scrubber

7)wipe excess glue away from paper

Ideas: mounting old photos – archivally
on linen

Can reverse mounting by spraying with
water and peeling off.

When can’t be typeset must be relief
etching

Printed from back

When asked how to price art?He said it's really really hard – gallery usually takes
50%. You can try to figure your price by the hour – it can be a full time job to
just promote yourself.

Friday, April 24, 2015

California Printmakers 1950-2000 is now showing (February 22 - May 31, 2015) at the Laguna Art Museum and proclaims to include “most
of the leading California artists of the second half of the twentieth century”,
and it does include artists such as Wayne Thiebaud , David Hockney, Richard
Diebenkorn, John Baldessari, Bruce Nauman and Ed Rusha, who though all painters
are not all printmakers. The title card states that “printmaking flourished thanks
to the establishment of workshops where artists could benefit from the
technical know-how and inventiveness of expert printers. The most notable were
Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles, founded in 1960; Crown Point
Press in San Francisco, founded in 1962; Gemini G.E.L. in Los Angeles founded
in 1966; and Cirrus Editions, also in Los Angeles, founded in 1970.”

I am not sure how the works were selected but it seems they are from the Laguna Art Museum’s permanent collection
augmented by some local private collections. The show claims to be a history of
“outstanding” works by California printmakers of the period. The artists
represented included well known painters Wayne Thiebud, Richard Diebenkorn, Ed
Ruscha, Bruce Nauman, John Baldessari, but with a title as broad as “California
Printmakers 1950-2000” the list of printmakers included was somewhat limited. The title touted 50 years of California Printmakers, but the show included many who were famous painters, omitting many outstanding printmakers from 1950-2000. Though it was nice to find items from the artists in the show for sale when when exiting through the gift shop.

The show is well presented and the inclusion of a glossary
of printmaking terms enhances the experience for those unfamiliar with the
different printmaking processes: what is an edition, what are stages and what
are print shops. The show also attempts to educate viewers on the various types of
printmaking and terminology by providing a glossary for use in the gallery. An observation was that those shown to be published by a press, Tamarind, Crown
Point, Gemini G.E.L., the entire edition was
not printed by the artist, but by the master printers of that print shop.

My two favorite pieces were actually by those that were made by actual printmakers: Egon Schiele,
a formidable, life size wood cut by Dirk Hagner andDazzle
a delicate hand colored drypoint by Beth Van Hosen.

I had the opportunity to see a show at the Norton Simon in
2012, Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in
Southern California at the Norton Simon which was a much more comprehensive
show so think a more apt subtitle for this show might be “proof-lite”.

Egon Schiele, 2004

Dirk Hagner
(b. 1953)

Woodcut, from the edition of 15

Rabbit, 1986

Ed Ruscha (b.
1937)

Lithograph, from the edition
of 30, printed and published by the Tamarind Institute, Albuqurque

Museum purchase

Untitled #5 (Stones), 1988

William Brice
(1921-2008)

Etching and aquatint, from the
edition of 25

Museum (gift of Peter Norton)

Untitled, 1972

Bruce Nauman (b.
1941)

Drypoint, from the edition of
25, printed and published by Cirrus Editions, Los Angeles

Museum (gift of Ed Moses and Family)

Cone, 1995

Wayne Thiebaud
(b. 1920)

Etching, from the edition of
40, printed and pubslished by Crown Point Press, San Francisco, 2011)

Museum (gift of Rich and
Ariane MacDonald)

Dazzle, 1985 (detail)

Beth Van Hoesen
(1926-2010)

Drypoint with roulette,
hand-colored in watercolor, from the edition of 35)